


It's The Quenchiest!

by CastielTheAngel



Series: Voltron Whump Week 2017 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dramatic, Fever, Fever Dreams, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Lance (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Poisoning, Sick Lance, Spooky Scary Spiders, Stranded, Voltron Whump Week 2017, Worried Keith, crying lance, don't drink strange plant juice guys, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:26:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielTheAngel/pseuds/CastielTheAngel
Summary: In which Lance and Keith get stranded on a desert planet with little hope of finding the proper resources to survive. Lance ends up drinking some cactus juice. Unlucky things entail.





	It's The Quenchiest!

**Author's Note:**

> **Unedited!  
> I'd appreciate it if you'd correct me so I can fix any typos! Thank you!
> 
>  
> 
> This is a fic for Voltron Whump Week! The first prompt is "Fever". I'm a little late on finding out about this event, but I still wanted to participate!
> 
> I've wanted to write a Klance sickfic for a while now, (especially one lightly inspired by Sokka getting high on cactus juice, I love him so much- xD), and this is the perfect motivation to get me going! C: 
> 
> Just so you're aware, this is super dramatic. But it's whump week, so this time I have justifications!
> 
>  
> 
> More info can be found at [voltronwhumpweek2017](https://voltronwhumpweek2017.tumblr.com) on Tumblr!

 

 

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          "Great. This is just _great!_ " Keith groans. Lance raises an eyebrow. 

          "It could be worse. Our lions could've shut down." He prompts optimistically, turning to look at the screen to his side. Keith glowers at him through it, and Lance scowls right back. As if on cue, static begins to warp the screen into an ugly shape. The blue light in his lion's cockpit flickers, then fades out. Blue's mechanical whirring reluctantly ceases. 

          _Oh_.

          "You just _had_ to say something, didn't you?" Keith growls. Lance's eyes widen as he hears the dull roar of Red fade from behind him. He curls his upper lip in the beginnings of an angry snarl and turns to look at Keith once more, only to remember that they are no longer able to see each other. At least they were still able to communicate through their helmets. 

 

          Lance and Keith had been sent on a mission to check out some unusual Galra action detected on the planet of Opia. As it had turned out, it was merely a trap. The planet's odd atmosphere had dulled down the lions' attack skills, forcing them to land rather than chasing after the retreating Galra ships. They were stuck.

 

          "Well, we can't just stay here. Get out." Keith deadpans after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Lance opens his mouth to protest, but he realizes that Keith is right. Sitting and waiting around will get them nowhere. Lance reluctantly jetpacks from Blue's mouth down to the ground, and glances behind the great lion to see Keith performing the same actions. 

          "Let's move. Maybe we can find some Opians to help us get out of this place." Keith says as he approaches Lance. 

          Lance doesn't like taking orders from Keith, whether they're helpful or not. If they had been in any other situation, the younger might have argued until Shiro silenced him. But they only have each other out here, so he supposes it would be best not to start anything. He wordlessly follows the red paladin away from the lions, glancing back every once and a while as Red and Blue grow smaller and smaller the farther they walk.

 

          The desert is dry. It's dry, sunny, and vast. It's not particularly hot, however, and Lance is incredibly grateful for that. He's walking just a few paces behind Keith, taking his time to look around for any signs of life. Or water.

          _Water_...

          Lance licks his lips and winces at the dry smack his tongue makes when he opens his mouth. It's not particularly gross, just... loud. Keith probably heard it, even from a few feet away. The desert is far too quiet; even the air is still. If Keith does hear the noise, he provides no indication. 

          Lance glances to his left with a small _"hm?"_  when he thinks he sees something moving just a few inches form his foot. His eyes widen when he realizes what it is; he yelps and jumps away, crashing into Keith. 

          "What the hell, Lance!?" Keith gasps, turning around to glare at the blue paladin with wide, startled eyes. Lance points to the ground where a pale brown spider is scuttling away. It's roughly the size of the average human's hand. Keith groans and pushes Lance- who had latched onto Keith's arm- away. 

          "What, no sympathy for the frightened?" Lance whines, pouting as Keith begins walking once again. But he hadn't missed Keith's shiver of disgust upon seeing the large, ugly arachnid. 

 

          " _Keith!_ " Lance all but shrieks a few moments later. Keith jumps and whips around, readying his bayard to attack any danger, but there's nothing there. Keith's panicked expression quickly grows sour as he realizes that Lance has absolutely no reason to scream. He opens his mouth to snap, but Lance cuts him off before he's able to. 

         "Look, look. Look!" Lance points towards a tall figure a few yards off to the side. "It's a cactus! It'll have water in it!" He grins enthusiastically. _Finally_ , he thinks as he runs toward it, _finally we found something_ useful _on this godforsaken planet!_  He can hear the rush of Keith's footsteps behind him when he stops in front of the giant succulent. 

         "Keith, can you slice it open with your sword?" Lance asks, turning to look at the elder boy. Keith summons his bayard and deals out three strong lashes. The top of the cactus breaks away into thirds and Lance picks up one of the cactus pieces. Milky liquid drips out when he tilts it, but he fails to notice that it looks odd. Not like the earth water that a human would expect to find in a cactus. 

         Keith, however, does notice this. 

         "Do you really think it's a good idea to drink that? It looks... strange." He warns, picking up a slice and squinting at the liquid. Lance pays no mind to Keith's hesitation. He tips the cactus piece to his lips and drains it of its liquid. 

         "It's fine! Pretty thirst quenching, actually. Nothing's quenchier!" Lance grins as he stares expectantly at Keith. Keith raises his eyebrows and gives Lance an odd look. He drops the cactus and pulls Lance's piece from the boy's fingers, being careful not to prick either of them. 

         "It's always a stupid idea to drink unknown substances on an unfamiliar planet. Come on, we're going." Keith grumbles, grabbing Lance's wrist. Lance pouts and whines and protests, but Keith has a strong grip on his arm, so he gives in to the pulling.

         

         A whole twenty dobashes have passed by the time Keith speaks. He'd been sending worried glimpses in Lance's direction ever since they'd left the cactus behind. His eyes widen when he realizes that the boy's face has grown incredibly flushed since the last glance. 

         "Lance, put your helmet back on." Keith says. Lance had removed it after complaining about being too warm. Lance spares Keith an incredulous glare and shakes his head.

         "No way. It literally felt like the fires of hell in there." He argued. He knew his voice sounded drained, so he attempted to back the deadpanned protest with a stubborn frown. There was no venom to be found in his tone or expression, merely exhaustion. 

         "Lance, you look like you're getting a sunburn. Put it on." Keith says urgently. Lance groans and slides his helmet back on, grumbling about how warm it is. He removes it once again when Keith turns back around. He stops for a moment and stares at the ground in front of him.

          "Keith, are we in an earthquake right now?" He asks, frowning hard at the compact dirt.

         "No, why?" Keith sounds mildly irritated. 

         "But.. the ground. It's... moving?" Lance breathes quietly. His eyes widen almost comically when a sudden throb wrenches his gut. Keith stops a few paces in front of the younger boy and turns around just in time to see Lance double over and wrap his arms around his abdomen.

         "Fuck!-" Lance spits out. He grits his teeth together and tears sting his eyes at the intense sensation. He hears Keith speaking to him, hears the panic in the elder boy's voice and feels Keith's hands gripping his shoulders- but he can't form actual sentences.

         Lance can sense his own weight being lifted from the ground, and all he can do is squirm and curl into himself as tight as his body will allow him. He tenses and colds his arms across his belly, choking out sobs and muttering incoherently. He realizes that Keith probably can't understand a word he's saying, but he could honestly care less. His body aches like nothing he's ever felt before. He closes his eyes and allows darkness to put a halt on the pain.

 

_"Keith, what are you doing?" Lance asks incredulously. He looks up at the red paladin, who's staring right back, shock obvious in his amethyst-grey gaze._

_"You were literally_ just _dying. What the hell happened!?" Keith exclaims. It's Lance's turn to look surprised._

 _"I'm_ literally _just fine. Are you-" -okay, he means to ask, but Keith ducks his head and presses a harsh kiss to Lance's lips._

_"I thought you were horribly sick or something! You scared me, you idiot!" Keith says as he pulls back and sets Lance down. Lance gives Keith a funny smile._

_"Nope, don't know where you got that idea from." He says. Keith looks torn between a fuming outburst and a relieved response. Before he can do either, Lance pipes up again._

_"Wait. You just.._ kissed _me."_

_Keith stares unblinkingly for a moment. His eyes noticeably flicker down Lance's face and back up again. It's brief, the movement is quick. But Lance notices it. The younger boy's grin widens and he pitches forward to return the gesture. Darkness encases them just before their lips meet._

 

         It feels as if the air around them is growing impossibly colder. Lance's body begins to tremble from the poison-induced mind hallucinations. He regains consciousness slowly, and is sourly greeted by a familiar throb in his core- albeit less intense than the previous sensation. It's still unpleasant, however, and he whimpers as the pain intensifies when he tries to sit up.

          Lance sees a flash of red, black, and white, and suddenly hands are threading through his hair and brushing at his cheeks and neck gently. He groans as his head is lifted onto something a bit softer, and he opens his eyes further to look up at Keith. The red paladin is hanging over Lance's face, and black hair tickles the bridge of his nose. 

         "Lance? Thank god you're awake! It's okay, you're gonna be okay." Keith breathes shakily. He huffs out a relieved laugh and drops his forehead against Lance's, cradling the younger boy's head between his hands and taking a few deep breaths. 

         "Stop..." Lance mumbles. Keith lifts his head and stares at Lance inquiringly. 

         "Make it stop," Lance says shakily, voice pitching higher. He sounds delirious and drowsy, but fear hides beneath the thick layer of exhaustion. It's a tone that scares Keith; he never wants to have to hear it again, but Lance keeps talking.

         "Please, please, please- stop- s'cold..." He whines as he twists around and turns onto his side, pressing his face into Keith's thighs. Keith shakes his head.

         "You're burning up, Lance. It's not cold." He murmurs, gently toying with the hair at the base of Lance's neck. Lance seems to relax at this. He quiets down, save for a few unintentional "auh"s that slip every now and then. Keith continues carding his fingers through Lance's hair until the blue paladin falls back into an easier sleep.

 

_"We did it. We are a good team." Lance recalls himself saying just moments ago. He'd passed out again, but he's slowly regaining consciousness once more. He shifts in someone's grip as the fellow paladin carries him down the corridor towards the room with the cryopods._

_Lance opens his eyes._

_It's Keith._

_A sudden rush of alarm drowns him._ Keith is shorter, how is he carrying me-? _Lance thinks. He squirms experimentally to see if Keith's strength would give out, but the effort merely worsens his headache and awakens him to the realization that his entire body hurts. He supposes next time he'll think before he decides to underestimate short people. Apparently he hadn't quite learned his lesson from when Pidge had jabbed him with her bayard. Keith is a mere inch or two shorter than Lance anyway. Not a huge deal._

_The last thing Lance sees before he passes out once again is Keith's gaze as it flickers down to meet Lance's own._

 

      _"He's waking up."_

_ "The worst of it should be over."_

_"Does he look a little red to you guys...?"_

_Pidge. Coran. Hunk._

         Consciousness reclaims Lance quickly. The boy's eyes flicker open and he glances to the side where he'd heard his friends' voices. _God, was he ever happy to see them_. Lance pushes his arms down against the soft mattress beneath him and tries to sit up, groaning low in his throat as he does. 

         "Careful, lad." Coran says, patting Lance's shoulder. "I'll go tell the others you're awake. They'll want to see you." 

         "We're glad to see you awake." Pidge says, offering a kind smile. She turns and follows Coran out of the room, leaving Lance alone with Hunk. 

         "I don't remember falling asleep in my room." Lance says looking up to meet Hunk's worried smile. Hunk shakes his head.

         "Long story short, me and Pidge found a way to track you guys through that planet's weird atmosphere." He elaborates.

         "Pidge and _I_." Comes a voice from the doorway. Hunk moves out of Lance's line of vision, and Lance's expression lights up when he sees Keith leaning in the doorway. Hunk grins sheepishly and exits the room once Keith enters.

         "Lance. How are you feeling?" Keith asks softly as he approaches Lance's bed. Lance moves over and Keith sits down. 

         "Kind of tired. Kind of cold. ...Am I sweating?" Lance asks, squinting at Keith inquisitively. Keith reaches to press the back of his hand to Lance's forehead.

         "You're still a bit feverish. Your temperature should be back to normal by tomorrow." He says, dropping his hand. There's a gentle smile on the red paladin's face, and Lance thinks he could get lost in it. 

         "I'm sorry for being such an asshole back there." Keith says after a moment, looking slightly guilty. Lance shakes his head. He regrets it; there's still a dull throb from the fever.

         "I'm sorry for being so whiny and annoying." He returns. His voice is a bit strained from activating the headache.

         Keith seems to notice the change in Lance's tone.

         "Well, now that we've got that out of the way, get some sleep." Keith says quietly. "You'll feel better when you wake up." 

         Lance sincerely hopes that's true; he's starting to awaken to just how exhausted he feels. 

         "Stay. Please," He blurts out when Keith begins to stand up. 

         "What, and sleep _here?_ " Keith asks incredulously. Lance might be imagining it, but the elder boy's cheeks look redder than normal. Lance ignores it and nods, pulling at Keith's arm and tugging him down into the mess of blankets.

 

         Keith stays.

 

 

 

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**Author's Note:**

> ...I enjoyed writing this way too much for my own good.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Again, any typos? Please don't hesitate to help me fix my shit! C:


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